


On Screen Devastation

by n0m_de_plum



Series: Actor & Screenwriter AU [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 03:44:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6783796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n0m_de_plum/pseuds/n0m_de_plum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina is a screenwriter on a HBO tv show, Robin is an actor who plays the main character's love interest. She writes steamy love scenes between the two leads, and he and his co-star sizzle while acting them out...but both are secretly using each other as inspiration.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Screen Devastation

Her fingernails dug into the meaty flesh at the heels of her hands, leaving little half-moon indentations.

She shifted on her feet, and attempted to breathe from her belly to calm down.

She was being ridiculous. She knew that. 

She was being foolish and insecure...but, by God, if Robin did not get his hands off Zelena’s breasts she was going to lose her mind!

Unfortunately, Heller apparently had decided he needed a hundred takes of John and Dorothea’s reunion pillow-talk scene!

Regina shook her head. How many different angles could one get of Robin and Zelena laying in bed staring into each other’s eyes?

Staring into each other’s eyes with Robin’s hand hiding her pasties from the camera! 

Really, hadn’t the props department ever heard of a bedsheet, or, for that matter, a bra?

Of course, they wouldn’t do that. Damned HBO show and its want for explicit sex! 

Or at least the illusion of it. 

There was that silver-lining, at least. Robin and Zelena were not actually naked. They both had on jeans...thick ones, she noted happily. And, he wasn’t actually touching her nipples.

Regina unclenched her fists. She was being ridiculous. It was just acting.

As her blood pressure slowly began returning to normal, Heller called to cut camera for 5 minutes.

On set, Zelena let out a relieved sigh and stretched across the bed.

“At least the props in this scene are comfortable!” she commented with a giggle.

Robin chuckled at the joke.

A hot, shaky feeling immediately washed over Regina as she watched him. He wasn’t even attempting to move away from Zelena. Not even to take his hands off her body! In fact, he was giving his co-star one of his quirky half-smiles.

She turned, quickly fleeing from the studio. Just as she neared the door, however, one of the assistants appeared by her side.

“Ms. Mills, is there anything I can get you?”

“No, get out of my way!”

Regina stormed across the lot to the office buildings, feeling slightly bad for snapping at the poor woman. She was nervous. It’d had been obvious from her voice and wide-eyed expression. Crews were always nervous when someone from the creative team was on set...anxious to convey that all was going smoothly.

She couldn’t have been polite under these circumstances, though. 

She felt carsick.

Scanning her keycard, she went inside and made her way up to her office.

Inside she shut the door, and slowly sunk down into her chair. Drawing deep slow breaths, Regina fought her body’s urge to hyperventilate, and tried to get the images of Robin and Zelena staring into each other’s eyes out of her mind. They were crystal clear, though...as was the fact that they’d continued to do so once the cameras were no longer rolling!

She shook her head. How could this happen? Robin and Zelena hated each other!

The traitorous part of her mind reminded her, however, that both on-set gossip, and Robin himself, had said that they were getting along better these days.

Just how much better was “better”? 

Regina ran her hand through her hair trying to tell herself that she was imagining things. That they had just been in character. Just acting...pretending. 

However, she kept seeing Robin’s quirky smile...the one that was usually aimed at her.

She felt her eyes prickle.

No! Robin would never do that! He was the one said he wanted them to give it a shot when she was certain they’d be nothing more than one-night stand that ruined a friendship. He called her ‘my love’. He said it all the time.

Oh the other hand, though...last night the guy at the chip shop had also called her that!

The tabloids had been talking about Zelena and Robin for years, and, these days, they rarely published something that could be proven not true.

And Zelena wasn’t the only actress rumored to have been one of his trysts!

She hadn’t believed **those** rumors. After all, she had Robin had been friends, but not lovers, then. They’d talk on the phone late at night due to the time difference; meet the pub when they were both in London and just spend hours together.

She’d been certain she’d have known something if there was any truth to it! 

Would she really have though?

What if she only knew what he wanted her to know? What if he’d picked up on how attracted she’d been to him from the moment they met, and figured out that she’d be easy?

Part of her had to admit that seemed a little heavy-handed for Robin, but, then again, did she really know him?

Did it really make sense that an up and coming actor who was star of a hit tv show, co-star of an epic film that was already generating Oscar buzz, and was sexy enough that magazines bugged his agent for provocative photo shoots with his equally sexy co-stars, could be just a down-to-Earth single father behind the scenes?

If the rumors about Zelena, and what he’d gotten up to on the set of _Savior_ , were true...

Dear God, she was an idiot! 

Regina brushed tears away, wondering how she could have been so stupid? 

Robin was British. Just because he used prettier endearments than ‘babe’ didn’t mean he was actually saying he loved her! However, some overtures of friendship, a bit of flirting, and a few ‘my loves’ had been all it took to get her to voluntarily do what she’d swore never to do again...become someone’s dirty little secret.

* 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 *

A knock at the door, startled Regina out of her work. After allowing herself a few moments of self-pity earlier, she’d decided to get something productive done, so she threw herself into proofreading writing, going over her meeting schedule, and getting caught up on emails.

Glancing at the time in the corner of her screen, Regina noted that it was nearly 8:30. Last she checked, it had been just before 6PM when she left the studio.

Luckily, Henry had been invited to a sleepover with some of his new friends, which the nanny had dropped him off at, so no one would be missing her. However, she’d figured she’d be out late for another reason. Robin had asked her have dinner with him after they finished filming for the day, which was why, when she had a moment’s break, she’d decided to stop by the studio and to watch. It had been a little indiscreet, but had definitely proven fortuitous.

“Regina?” the man in question’s voice came through the door, “Are you in there?”

With a sigh, she stood and opened the door.

“There you are. I saw you on set earlier, but, when we finished filming, you were gone,” he commented, leaning forward to rest his hand on her waist and go in for a kiss.

She pulled away before he got the chance, though.

His brow furrowed, “What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, she simply turned her back and went to sit down in her chair.

“Regina,” he prodded.

“What are you doing here, Robin?”

“What do you mean what am I doing here?” he asked, “We had plans, didn’t we?”

“You sure you wouldn’t rather have dinner with Zelena?” she grumbled under her breath. He heard her though.

“What? What are you talking about?”

She shrugged.

He grabbed the extra chair from the corner and pulled it over to sit down next to her. 

“Is this about the scene we were filming earlier?”

She didn’t bother responding.

“You know you’re sort of cute when you’re jealous,” he said, placing one hand on her knee and giving her his quirky smile.

Disgust and anger rose in her throat as the image leapt into her mind of him giving the same to Zelena while she lay topless in his arms.

She shoved his hand off her knee.

“Regina!” he said in a slightly reproachful tone.

She simply stared ahead at her computer screen.

“Talk to me!”

“About what?” she shot back.

“Whatever’s upsetting you-”

“Why would I be upset?” she asked, “You only spent an hour groping Zelena’s breasts, or, at least an hour that I saw! How much longer did it take before you could tear yourself away?”

He sighed, “My love, you know that’s just work-”

“You can stop that, too!” she cut in.

“Stop what?”

“That whole ‘my love’ stuff!” she answered, “It was a brilliant performance, I’ll give you that! You definitely are truly talented. You had me fooled, so...bravo!”

“Regina, what the are you talking about?” he asked, annoyance creeping into his voice.

She turned her chair to face him, “I know how this works, okay? So I’d rather we just go ahead and be honest about it!”

“Honest about what?”

“Zelena, and...whoever else there is.”

He gaped at her, “You really think I’m cheating on you?”

“No,” she responded, “Because it isn’t really cheating when we’re not actually a couple, right?”

He blinked, “You don’t think we’re a couple?”

She shrugged, "We can’t be when no one knows about us! Besides, let’s face it, I’m not exactly your type.”

Robin scoffed, “You really could not be any more wrong about **that**!”

“I’m not talking looks!” she rolled her eyes, “I just mean I’m well aware of where you are!”

“Oh, and where exactly am I?” he crossed his arms across his chest.

She sighed at how intentionally obtuse he was acting, “You’re finally successful, and you want to sample the fruits of that success. I get it. It’s what any man would want. I’ll even grant that you’re even better than most. At least you’re single, instead of doing the classic trade in your starter wife when you make it-”

“Alright!” he interjected, “That’ll be enough! Now, I’m sorry you’re upset, but I’m not going to listen to any more of this!”

She clenched her jaw turning back to the computer screen. She had an email open, but couldn’t focus on reading any of it.

“There’s no one else, Regina,” he insisted, “Particularly not Zelena! What you saw on set was me doing my job. Nothing more!”

“For now maybe,” she muttered.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

She sighed, “Robin...this is pointless.”

“What-”

“I’m not that person!” she exploded, “Okay? I’m not the perfect starlet you need on your arm. I’m not Zelena Weston, I’m not Emma Swan!”

“Emma Swan?” he repeated back, somewhat incredulous at hearing her described as a perfect starlet. The woman was one of the most tomboyish actresses he’d ever met, which was probably when she’d been cast in _Savior_ even though, by all historical accounts, she was far too beautiful to be Joan of Arc.

“You’re saying you weren’t involved with her either?”

“No, I wasn’t involved with Emma Swan! Where would you get such a crazy idea?”

She shrugged, “There’s rumors-”

“Rumors? You’re mad at me over rumors?” he asked incredulously

“Well, regardless of whether there’s anyone else, the fact is there’s no future for us.”

She saw the hurt flash through his eyes, “And you’ve decided this, have you?”

“I didn’t decide anything...I’m just facing reality.”

He stood pacing the room, “Wow, Regina, you really can be a piece of work sometimes! What happened to you that made you so determined to be down on yourself that you don’t even realize who else you’re insulting in the process?”

The questions was obviously rhetorical. He didn’t wait for an answer before going on, “You just accused me of cheating on you, of sleeping around in general, of tricking you into bed...that is what you were implying right?”

She felt her cheeks heat, but she didn’t answer.

“Of refusing to acknowledge our relationship publicly because...I don’t even know! Because you aren’t an actress? You tell me since you’ve got it all figured out!”

“I…” she hesitated.

“Plus, you basically just said that you trust your Twitter feed more than me!” he spat.

Regina felt herself shrinking into her chair as he went on.

“And you know the worst part is that if you’d been paying any attention, you’d know that I’ve wanted to be out on the open for months!” he yelled running a frustrated hand through his hair, “For fuck’s sake, you’ve had me had me essentially begging for it since day one!

“What?” she shot back skeptically.

“That first morning when I caught you sneaking out of my flat? I had to beg you to even give us a shot!” Robin said, “I’ve suggested we do normal everyday things so many times, but you always shoot them down. You’re always worried about pictures showing up on social media. About the producers finding out about us.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but found that nothing came out.

“You say it’s not real if no one knows? Well if we’re not real it’s by your choice, Regina, not mine,” he said sadly as he turned, slammed her office door open, and stormed out.


End file.
